Writing Exercise #9: Statement Poem

This week’s exercise is a journal prompt that lends itself well to writers of all kinds. Each line starts with a statement that you can finish however you want. This is a chance to work on metaphor and simile within a poem. You can also use it as a way to develop a character in one of your stories. Or you can do both!

Before you begin, choose your subject. Are you writing about yourself or someone else? If it is another person or character, put yourself in their shoes. Take a brief moment to think about the world from their perspective. Who are the people that surround them? What sort of things would they say or do in their environment? Then move through the prompts, putting down the first ideas that come into your head.

I was…

I am…

I think…

I wonder…

I wish…

I save…

I always…

I can’t imagine…

I believe…

I promise…

I love…

Once you are finished, put this in a drawer for at least two weeks. Then come back to it with fresh eyes to see if you can make any changes. You may find that a metaphor has become clearer in your mind or you have learned new things about your character by then.

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